Mayor Don Wesely today announced that the pothole repair season is under
way and that $5 million will be spent to repair major arterial streets and 104
residential blocks this year. Mayor Wesely reminded motorists to take extra
care in driving around city crews filling potholes and repairing streets.
The city Public Works and Utilities Department has been able to start making
permanent pothole repairs as the asphalt mixture required becomes available
from the manufacturer.

"We repair street potholes all year, but permanent repairs can only made in
warmer weather," said Mayor Wesely. "Fortunately, our relatively warm winter
has resulted in fewer potholes than last year. We urge citizens to report
potholes that need attention."

Citizens can call the pothole hotline at 441-7646, or they can fill out a
street service request form available on the home page of the cityís web site
at www.lincoln.ne.gov.

"Every year Iíve made street repair a priority, and for the last several
years, Iíve ordered that more than 100 residential blocks be repaired or
resurfaced," said Mayor Wesely. Wesely quadrupled the number of neighborhood
blocks rehabilitated in 1999 and has continued that high level each year.

"Maintaining our city streets is a core service that affects every resident
every day. It affects our economy and our quality of life," said Wesely.
"Residential street repair is a priority because it has a positive impact on
the appearance of neighborhoods, property values, traffic conditions and safety."

Potholes are created when water seeps into cracks in the pavement, freezes and
expands. Bill Nass, Maintenance Coordinator in the Street Operations Division,
said asphalt used to make permanent repairs can only be used in warmer
temperatures so the plants that manufacture that type of asphalt close during
the winter months.

"The recent warm weather has increased not just pothole repair work, but also
clean up work such as street sweeping, cleaning storm sewers and getting debris
out of ditches," said Nass. "We have been able to repair potholes reported on
arterial streets within about three days and on residential streets within about
four days."

The $5 million allocated for street rehabilitation this calendar year includes
$2.9 million for arterials, $1.6 million for residential streets and another
$500,000 for contingencies and engineering work.

Jim Visger, Design and Construction Manager, said a ranking system is used to
determine which streets will be rehabilitated. The criteria include the
current condition of roadway surface, the condition of the curbs, the type of
base, traffic volumes and types of traffic. Visger said this is the third year
the city is using a more durable asphalt, which is similar to that used on
interstates.

A current list of street rehabilitation projects is attached. The list is also
available on the city web site, www.lincoln.ne.gov, under Public Works
and Utilities.